When I first heard from the principal of an agricultural school in rural India, I was struck by the simplicity of the question its leaders had asked themselves: what is right for our children and our community? Their answer was not to bolt on an after-school club. It was to look at the lives, interests and futures of their pupils, and build practical farming and construction skills alongside academic learning. Pupils were not passive recipients. They had a voice in what and how they learned. Of course, English schools cannot simply lift a model from rural India and place it into a primary school in Slough. Our system is different, our accountability landscape is different and our communities are different. But over the past two years, working through an international network with school leaders from India, Nigeria, Kenya, Vietnam, Chile, Estonia and the United States, I have found the same lesson returning again and again. The most useful international learning is not about copying. It is about expanding your sense of what might be possible. That matters now as schools prepare for the new enrichment benchmarks. In a high-accountability system there is a risk that any new benchmark is seen through the lens of compliance first. What do we need to evidence? What will inspectors look for? Where does this sit in the development plan? Bigger opportunity Those questions matter. School leaders have enough on their plates, and any new expectation has to be taken seriously. But if we start and end with compliance, we miss the bigger opportunity. At its best, enrichment helps children to discover interests, build confidence, form relationships with trusted adults and see themselves differently. At Foxborough, part of Pioneer Educational Trust, 38 per cent of pupils are eligible for pupil premium, about a third have SEND and about a third speak English as an additional language. Enrichment is not a nice extra. It is central to belonging. Our ROCK values curriculum is one change that has been inspired by student-led learning I saw overseas. Built around responsibility, open-mindedness, challenge and kindness, it progresses through the school and culminates in a pupil-led project, giving children ownership of their learning and developing independence, character and leadership. Another change came after visits to Chilean schools and conversations with US leaders. We introduced electives for pupils in years 1 to 6, working cross-phase. Staff are asked a simple question: what are you passionate about and would love to teach? Then we build six-week courses. Pupils might choose dance, photography, storytelling, cooking, music or badminton. The sessions are led by teachers or teaching assistants sharing interests and expertise that children might never otherwise see. Feeling connected Pupils have responded joyfully, saying: “I can’t believe I get to do this at school”. Enrichment can shift how children experience school. It can allow a child who struggles in a traditional lesson to shine elsewhere or help a new pupil feel connected. Recently, a mother told us she could not believe her daughter was dancing with the headteacher and enjoying school so quickly after arriving. There are practical questions, including cost, time and capacity. Schools will need to think carefully about what’s sustainable. With the government taking sport premium out of school budgets and not providing enrichment funding, there’s a danger some things become optional with costs that fall on to parents. We’ve had successful grant applications, and we benefit from an artist-in-residence programme as part of our trust’s offer to all pupils. But as we’ve seen, enrichment doesn’t have to mean buying into something new. Start by looking at the talents already in the building, the interests of pupils, the strengths of the community and the values you want children to live by. The new benchmarks can help schools to audit and strengthen their offer. But they should also prompt a deeper question: what experiences, skills and character traits do we want children to take with them when they leave us? If we answer that honestly, enrichment becomes more than another framework. It becomes part of the promise we make to children about what school is for.